Another Languedoc year...

By SweetApricots

Hello big boy

This is the caterpillar of the Great Peacock moth (Saturnia Pyri). I was moving a large pile of pallets today and found this huge creature lurking under one of the lower ones. I've tried to photograph the gigantic moths before but I've only seen them at night, and have never got a good photo of one. But I do have some video and a couple of photos here.

Apparently, 'When disturbed by a would be attacker the caterpillars stridulate by rubbing their mouth parts together, creating broadband chirps spanning from 3.7-55.1 kHz. While it is still unclear who exactly they are advertising to, a predator would be well advised to stay away from their sharp, chemical exuding bristles. ' ScienceNews

I wasn't tempted to touch it and I couldn't hear any stridulating going on.

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